I have been on the receiving end of a speculum wielding med student on not one, but two separate occasions. The last one was so bad, that parts of my external anatomy became internal. I will not say more on this subject.

Thanks for the congrats all, and may I return them manyfold, for bouncing babies on ultrasounds, babies about to be born, babies turning one, and babies sleeping EIGHT HOURS straight. Un-fracking-believable I'm so gddmned jealous.

We had our 10 week ultrasound yesterday and it was more entertaining than I could have imagined! The baby was so active, wiggling all around, waving arms, bending legs... definitely images I cannot get out of my head!

A few funny things about the visit... my doctor had a student with him. So once he got a clear view that all was well, he handed over the wand to her. She was so afraid of hurting me that I felt like saying, I can't even feel you! When it came time to take a picture, she couldn't find the baby and, when she did, it was nowhere near the perfectly clear shot my doctor had of the baby earlier. And I completely forgot to ask about the baby's heart rate because I was so distracted by the student. But even though I didn't get the greatest picture, the images are vivid in my memory! On a side note, the lady in the next room had a cart outside of her door with a speculum on it... I'm certainly relieved the student came in at this point in my progress instead of during the IUI!

Zelda is not my real name, but I LOVE it. If we had had a girl, I might have used it!

It's my "name" on almost all the boards I visit, but I must admit most people think it's after the video game. For me, it's after Zelda Fitzgerald. I read a biography about her and was fascinated. Plus, I just love the name.

I do think most people OUR age would think of the video game at first, but I don't most people HER age would know about it (I don't think). I love the name! I think it's unusual without being too "weird" or whatever.

I look forward to time slowing down! I'm nearly 36 weeks and have so much to do and am so not ready for the baby to arrive so I welcome a slow down. We are closing on our house next week and then moving next weekend and that will help me feel much more ready. Right now all the baby stuff is in storage so I can't wait to unpack and feel like we have room and supplies for a baby.

Happy Birthday, Elliott! That reminds me that a year ago we started TTC (I remember it was right around the time Zelda gave birth). Look where we are now, one year later!

Zelda, is Zelda your real name? Regardless, what do you think of it as a name for a baby? It's one of my partner's favorites and I'm not sure what I think. I do have a strong affinity for Zelda Fitzgerald (I wrote papers on her in college) but feel like the name has completely been taken over by the video game...

Cristine, congrats on hearing the heartbeat! How wonderful - so happy for you. I hear you on the "impatient time." Believe me, once you get later in the pregnancy time will speed up a bit. Sadly, it tends to slow down again at the very end - you kind of go between being freaked out that you won't have enough time to get everything ready and thinking, "Hey, baby, you ever gonna come out of there?"

Aphelendra, congrats on the wedding and everything else!

And just to show you how the spectrum can vary....I didn't get my period back until Henry was about 15 months old. I'm sure the nursing had a lot to do with it, but Henry's been on at least some solids since he was 6 months old and we did start whole milk after he was a year old as well. I have to say, it was kind of a treat having almost two years' vacation (not counting the lochia) from mr. period.

Several people I know - including my neighbors who were both pregnant when I was pregnant with Henry - are pregnant again already. I think I want to wait until Henry's closer to 2 to start trying for the next one, but I've definitely started dreaming about having another one.

Zelda, I cannot believe it's already been a year... happy birthday to the little guy!!

I had my 8 week appt. today and all is well. Baby has 2 arms, 2 legs, measuring 18mm and a healthy heartbeat of 174.

On a side note our cat had a litter of 4 kittens on Saturday. It's been a strange journey finding out I was pregnant not long after realizing my cat was pregnant! Now I get to see her completely change into this motherly creature and see all these adorable little baby kitties doing cute little baby kitty things. It's been a good distraction for me during this impatient time.

Michelina, Babybird is 7 months today and my period still hasn't returned. That may be because he's a crappy sleeper who still wants to nurse every 4 hours at night.... I'm envious of your 8-hours-a-night-girl!

We also discussed when to start work on Babybird v2.0 last night. We've won't know until we start trying what effect the chemo will have had on AB's fertility, and we've been advised to wait at least a year to let things settle down. If necessary we still have the frozen sperm from when he was diagnosed the first time around, although we'd have to fund IVF ourselves now as the NHS will only foot the bill for couples with no children. Anyways, we're both keen to get on with it; funny that only 7 months ago I swore "never again"!

Aphelendra, congratulations!! That's fantastic news on both fronts! And it's comforting to hear of someone who made it through pregnancy with GERD. I'm really trying to get through this, but I just don't want to eat! The only foods that are momentarily easy on my stomach are full of carbohydrates!

Michelina, glad to hear that you're at such an enjoyable stage with Makenna!

Nickclick, Makenna is doing really well, thanks! She is sleeping 8 hours straight at night and is a very happy baby for the most part. She loves to smile and giggle, and she is really cooing now. She's an absolute joy. I found the newborn stage tough, and am enjoying this stage a lot more. We are going on a 9-day road trip right away. It'll be interesting to see how she does with that.

In a very wierd way, we are back to trying to conceive. I know our chances of naturally conceiving are low, but it could happen. My period hasn't yet returned anyway, but when it does, we will try to time intercourse for ovulation. I am going to try very hard not to stress about it. If it doesn't happen naturally by next spring (and we expect it won't), then we'll go in to transfer our frozen embryo. If that doesn't work, we'll probably do a fresh cycle again. I know it will be tough a second time around, but it won't be as stressful because we have our child now. I would be disappointed if we cannot have a second, but I wouldn't be devastated the way I would have been if we couldn't conceive at all through IVF. And if one baby is all we get, then we will simply consider ourselves blessed to be parents of one healthy and happy child.

For the postpartum Busties, when did your periods return? I think mine may return pretty quickly because I go a long stretch at night without nursing. But who knows.

Just wanted to chime in on the heartburn issue . . . . I've had GERD since I was 14 and had been on nexium for about that long. I stopped when we started fert treatments, and I have to say, the pregnancy was not nearly as bad as I expected. And 10 months later, I would actually say that the GERD has improved. No idea why, or if it's even really related to the pregnancy. But it's safe to say that it doesn't always get worse. I had some wicked bad heartburn in the second and third tri, but more of the esophagus-on-fire-lava-in-my-throat variety, not the I'm-being-stabbed-by-a-sword-in-the-chest variety. It was an improvement, trust me.

In other, unrelated news, we are getting married on saturday. And . . . . I got into nursing school and start this fall! It's a gonna be a busy time for us . . . .

Thanks for the input catsoup, I too have been having fairly plain meals with lots of carbohydrates (which I usually avoid) because it's the only thing that soothes my stomach... which sucks because I'm a spicy food lover. Small sacrifice.

I never had heartburn prior to being pregnant. I had a rough first trimester - lots of nausea and vomiting (it would last most of the day and into the evening) to the point of losing nearly ten pounds between Thanksgiving and New Years. The "morning" (Ha!) sickness started around week 7 or 8 for me and ended around week 14 I think. Heartburn started not long after. Like I said, I had never had heartburn to the point where I had to ask my partner what in the world I was feeling and he clued me in. My midwife told me to start with Tums and if those stopped working to let her know. She said to try not to take more than 8 per day (I think that's what the recommendation was) and that taking one right before bed could even help avoid the dreaded leg cramps that can happen in the middle of the night (apparently both calcium and potassium help with that). The Tums worked fine until the third trimester and I got the okay to now take 75mg of Zantac 2x/day which is helping a lot. I take that and can still take some Tums if needed.

I can't handle any food with spice anymore. Everything seems to taste spicier than normal (even mild salsa is suddenly "too spicy" for me! Boo!) so I just avoid it all. It's made for some very boring meals at very delicious restaurants but it's what I've got to do these days.

So I guess I have "morning sickness" but it was hard for me to identify. Let me start by saying I had GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) prior to getting pregnant, which I've heard only gets worse during pregnancy. I used to take Prevacid every morning for it and Zantac after meals. I've heard these should be avoided during pregnancy but my doctor said if it's too uncomfortable to tolerate then I can continue taking it. Well I was fine with Tums at first as long as I avoid spicy foods and limit acidic foods... so much so, that on Tuesday I decided to try Buffalo chicken. It did not sit well with me and my stomach has been bothering me ever since, I figured it should go away but I still feel nauseous! Although my stomach is slightly sensitive in the mornings, it mostly tortures me in the afternoon and worsens through the evening. I think this might be morning sickness even though I'm not vomiting or gagging... lots of burping though, which is relieving.

Michelina... Funny thing is my doctor didn't give me a due date, but I had already calculated it as January 15th. My friend had each child on her first IVF try. The first baby, she tried for about 3 years and then tried IVF. When they wanted a second baby it was worry free, just pop into the clinic and get pregnant... such a relief considering her first bout.

Yay, Cristine! I'm so very happy for you! Isn't that hearbeat unbelievable? I heard Makenna's heartbeat at 6.5 weeks and it was incredible. What is your due date? When do you have the next ultrasound? So exciting!!!!